31 March is the annual International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day worth putting in the spotlight! Every year on the 31st of March, the visibility of transgender people, and the discrimination they still have to face to this very day, is highlighted. Rachel Crandall, a USA-based transgender activist, founded this day in 2009 to raise awareness for the incredible burden of discrimination the community faces in every setting imaginable.
As Th!nk with Pride, we stand with our trans colleagues and students. Not just tolerating trans people at the UT, but celebrating them!
What can you do
If you hear transphobic remarks (e.g., misgendering of a colleague, or the transgender community "difficult" or "annoying"), call it out! We hear of transphobic remarks made to our community members, that is not okay. You can disrupt a conversation directly when something happens, of talk to your colleagues afterwards. In general, a useful toolkit for such conversations is offered at the Active Bystander Training of the UT.
Of course, be mindful and open to someone’s story and treat them with respect. Another concrete step to take is to ask someone what pronouns they want to use, this is how you can refer to someone in- and outside of a conversation. For example, Lisa identifies as female and uses she/her pronouns, so:
- “Lisa is in a meeting, you can call her later, she is busy now.”
Pronouns often used by non-binary people are they/them, so:
- “Puck is in a meeting, you can call them later, they are busy now”
If you want to learn more, please refer to our resources page, containing resources for educators, students and advocates alike. Very insightful!
Sharing experiences; trans* & non-binary meeting group
The Trans* & non-binary meeting group provides a safe space for all non-cis staff and students. It doesn’t matter if you’re trans, non-binary, non-conforming, questioning, closeted, queer, any other gender or if you don’t feel like labelling yourself at all; you’re valid and very welcome to join! There are many things our cis-counterparts don’t fully ‘get’. We organize meetings where we talk about all things gender-related, whether it is euphoric, dysphoric or neutral. While heavy topics certainly arise, we also casually talk about how our gender affects our mundane, everyday experiences.
Check out our website if you want to know more.
Standing together for inclusion
With the Transgender Day of Visibility we want to stress that all people marginalised in our society deserve their voices to be heard, equitable access to resources and opportunities, and wholehearted inclusion and acceptance in every domain of life. It is to celebrate trans* visibility and also an opportunity for all of us to examine our blind spots. Now, more than ever, we should strive to lift up everyone together. No one left behind. This requires us to be intersectional and look outside of our own comfort zone and frame of reference. The liberation from systematic oppression under patriarchy, colonialism, and capitalism is no easy feat and cannot be achieved by creating solutions for 'some of us'. Transgender Day of Visibility is about the liberation of all of us. Please join us in celebrating on March 31st.
